Tips from Other Parents

Here are a number of potty training tips directly to from ClubMom members.

ClubMom ® is the premier online destination for moms, by moms — bringing together the best of what real moms have to say on topics they care about most. Through quality content submitted by thousands of mom contributors and the Web's first mom-to-mom social network, moms find answers, support, and insight needed to help lead their busy lives. The MomNetwork, ClubMom's newly launched social network, allows moms to search for and connect with other moms based on similar challenges, interests, kids' ages, and geography.
Potty Training Success Tips

By Go-To Mom Amy Blanchard , Wilton, NH

A mom with spina bifida contends with potty training her daughter. Read her struggle and THEN her success tips for potty training!!

Potty 101

A favorite doll sometimes does the trick when you're potty training

By ClubMom Member Sarah, Lancaster, NY

Potty training is the most difficult thing to teach your children. I learned that while trying to teach my daughter to go on the potty.

I found a good bit of advice from a book on the Internet. It said that a good way to show your children how to use the potty is to have them teach one of their favorite baby dolls or stuffed animals.

Together, we went to the store and I bought a baby doll who makes pee-pee. Then, I had my daughter show her how to take her baby to the potty. My daughter is still having accidents, but this had worked better than any other method I had tried until then.

Determined to Say Goodbye to Diapers

chair, a book, and even a dance spelled potty-training success for this toddler

By ClubMom Member Betsy, Beaumont, CA

When my daughter turned two we bought her a potty chair. We also bought her pull-up diapers, big girl underwear, a potty book, and a potty video. (Yeah, kinda of extreme but we were determined not change her diaper anymore).

I would take off her pants and put the potty chair by the TV. She would watch her movie and sit on the potty. We would also sit her on the potty and read the potty book. When she did go potty we made a big deal about it. We did the Potty Dance and laughed and had a great time. Diapers were history.

Stars, Bubbles, and Potty Training

Giving little ones the incentive they need to get going

By ClubMom Member Amanda, Murfreesboro, TN

I had the hardest time trying to potty train my son. One piece of advice I got was to stick a star on the bottom of his portable potty and tell him to try and hit the star. That didn't work. It wasn't enough incentive.

Then it hit me that when we were washing dishes together, he really loved making the bubbles. The next time he went, I put a little bit of dishwashing liquid in his potty. He got really really excited by the bubbles. I told him to remember to hit the star— and it worked!

It's Potty Time

Release your creative side during training time

By ClubMom Member Danielle, Poca, WV

I've been able to get my little girl to use the potty more by making a potty tree. This idea has really helped me out a lot. Each time after she asks to go potty, we put a little sticker on her tree. She doesn't get a sticker for accidents. It's great because she really enjoys putting a sticker on the tree.

Be creative with the tree and draw any kind you like. I drew a Christmas tree because it was that time of the year. Just let your imagination flow. It worked for us!

Potty-Trained in Three Days

One intensive weekend has a young child using the toilet

By ClubMom Member Naomi, Arlington, TX

Our daughter started going to the potty when she was eighteen months. We potty trained her in just three days. Here's how we did it:

My husband decided to take a three-day weekend to stay at home and help me potty-train. Over those three days, we took her to the potty every 30 minutes. On the fourth day, when daddy went back to work, she was completely potty-trained.

One night, we had to take her to the ER, and she went to the potty a couple of times. The nurses asked how old she was and when we told them, they were amazed that she was so young and going to the potty. They said they didn't get their children to go until age two or older.

Preparing for Potty Training

These tips will help

By ClubMom Member Mary Jo, Farmington, MI

I have found that potty training can be somewhat tricky depending on the child. Here are some tips.

1. Find out if your child is ready to begin potty training. Does she not want to stay in her wet diaper, or does she make mention of the fact that she wants her dollies to go to the bathroom? Does she ask you if she can go on the potty herself?

2. You may want to start by reading her a book about going to the potty so she can have a little understanding of what to expect.

3. Buy her a potty for herself. Watch for signs of her needing to go to potty. Encourage her to use her potty when she feels the need to go. Then reward her for her attempts, whether fully successful or not.

4. Get her potty training panties.

Need more potty training tips and advice on potty training problems or just general advice, check out all of our Potty Training Articles!